Educational Science

Frogs are known for producing a wide range of sounds, and they certainly aren't shy about piping up to win mates or warn intruders off their territory. But some types of frogs have a broader vocabulary than others, combining different vocalizations with gestures to say, Come hither! or Keep your...

Purple Digging Frog Undergoes Amazing Transformation

A strange purple species of frog that lives most of its life underground undergoes a drastic change from rock-clinging tadpole to grown-up digger, new research finds. While most frog tadpoles swim freely in the water, the Indian purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) spends its tadpole time clinging, with its suckerlike mouth,...

More than 10,000 endangered frogs and other water-dwelling animals living near a lake in South America were found mysteriously dead this month, according to reports from Peru’s wildlife and forestry service Serfor, leaving many people to wonder what could have caused this bizarre die-off. The Titicaca water frog (Telmatobius culeus),...

Freaky! New Frog Mating Position Discovered

A new frog mating position, only the seventh type ever observed, has been discovered in the monsoonal forests of India. Bombay night frogs (Nyctibatrachus humayuni) mate by having the male straddle the female without grasping her, and releasing sperm over her back. The female then lays her eggs, allowing the...

Photos: America's Only Lake Titicaca Frogs

Rare frog (Image credit: Courtesy Denver Zoo)One of three critically endangered Lake Titicaca frogs on display at the Denver Zoo, the only place in the northern hemisphere where these amphibians are on view for the public. These frogs are endemic to Lake Titicaca, a high-elevation lake on the border of...

Photos: Bombay Night Frogs Get Busy

Bombay Night Frog Calling (Image credit: SD Biju)A male Bombay night frog (Nyctibatrachus humayuni) calls out in the monsoonal night for a mate. This species lives only in the Western Ghats of India. They mate at night, perched on vegetation above fast-flowing forest streams, making their behavior difficult to observe....

'Wasteland' Frog Fits on a Thumbnail, Chirps Like a Cricket

A tiny new frog species — so small that it can sit comfortably on the tip of your thumb and with a distinctive call that sounds like a cricket's chirp — was recently discovered in the southwestern plains of India, and was described in a new study. Researchers gave the...

Kermit the Cannibal? Frogs Sometimes Eat Each Other

It's a frog-eat-frog world out there. While it may seem like frogs are insectivores (a long tongue snatching a fly comes to mind), these amphibians are actually generalist carnivores. They will eat just about any small critter they can swallow, including other frogs, according to a new study. It's no...

In New Territory, Good Froggy Dads Go Cannibal

Now that's an unreliable babysitter: Male poison frogs (Allobates femoralis) take care of egg clutches, even those that aren't theirs, in their own territories. But if these frogs move into a new territory, watch out: They eat every egg in sight. A team of researchers, led by Eva Maria Ringler...

Frog Embryos Speed-Hatch to Escape Danger

A developing frog embryo in its jelly-like egg mass can be quite the escape artist: When predators come calling, the red-eyed tree frog embryo can detect the threat and drop out of its egg to safety in a matter of seconds, even though it normally wouldn't be ready to hatch...